We know it’s been ages since we’ve brought joy to the masses with our documentation of the lovely bearded men we encounter in Denver. But, fear no more, beardies. We have a backlog of bearded interviews dating back a few years that we are aiming to bring to you this summer (and perhaps some new beards, too)! And summatime starts now.
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Just before Christmas in 2013, we had the delight and privilege to see the Americana duo The Lowest Pair perform at Swallow Hill in Denver. Now, on the eve of their show at Hi-Dive tomorrow, we bring you a dated yet delightful interview with Palmer T. Lee, who makes up one half of the lowest pair with the lovely Kendl Winter.

Palmer, who hails from Minnesota, shared with us that since he’d been able to grow a beard, he couldn’t remember a time he’s been clean shaven, and when we spoke with him, he had had that version of his beard for at least three years. Palmer made some changes in June 2013, and for the sake of hitting the road, he rid himself of all his possessions—including his beard trimmer—so he kept his beard proportional by occasionally using a simple scissors (with The Lowest Pair’s continued success we hope he’s been able to snag a trimmer again!) As far as Palmer’s family’s take on his beard, he said his grandparents “think it’s weird” but Kendl is a fan. Occasionally fans come up and caress his beard without permission, which he readily embraces. For beard-upkeep, Palmer uses a specific brush (which he said was unnecessary for grooming of his actual hair). You’ll want to catch The Lowest Pair with their amazing banjo skills–and Palmer’s beard–at the Hi-Dive tomorrow (June 8th), especially as they’ve just released two new albums and are touring this summer. Plus, local gem Patrick Dethlefs is opening. We can’t wait to hear them, and see how the past few years have treated Palmer’s fantastic beard!

They often say rebirth takes place in the spring, but for Beards of Denver, we’re all about the fall. After (more than) a year (!) hiatus, we are re-launching BofD close to our three-year anniversary with one seriously burly beard.

Fans of Beards of Denver, meet Scott Griffin Padden, or as his friends and the Beards of Denver ladies call him, SGP. We happened upon this handsome hunk of bearded dude at the acclaimed Lost Lake Lounge on East Colfax, a favorite haunt of the ladies of Beards of Denver, where we like to sip whiskey on weeknights and catch great shows. SGP was playing guitar this fateful night with the band Goodnight, Texas and took time after the show to share with us the inspiration behind his beard dedication, which is two-fold: a combined hatred of shaving plus embarking on several tours with different bands made up of an assortment of bearded bandmates lead to this fine beard specimen. (SGP swears he doesn’t have Beard Envy, although we’re guessing many of our readers now may after seeing his beard). SGP has been growing his fantastic beard since February 2014—no small feat, as he shared with us it takes time, care, and patience to navigate slow beard-growth spurts.

SGP keeps his boss beard beautiful through a beard trimmer his loving mother bought him for his birthday, a small dose of hair product, and his secret ingredient: Beard Balm he’s modeling here, which a friend of his created. We know Beard Balm works magic because we witnessed SGP fending off beard-kisses bestowed on him by an adoring fan (though he told us he does miss the neck kisses his longer beard blocks). Such are the daily struggles of a dashing bearded dude.

Though not a Denver boy, SGP is rumored to be making a reappearance in our fair city very soon! When not touring the world and wowing people with his beard (and music) he plays and composes music in San Francisco, where he currently resides. “You’ll have bad beard days. But Fuck ‘em!” A wise-bearded man’s creed if we’ve ever heard one.

If you have followed Beards of Denver for a bit, or if you are familiar with either beard or craft beer culture, you now know well that there is often a direct correlation between a bomb-ass beard and an excellent craft beer. Based on that cardinal knowledge, you won’t be surprised that we met Tony Drewry (left, pictured here with Will Golden, Head Brewer at Austin Beerworks in Austin, TX) at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in October. Tony, who is an independent craft beer consultant across the state of Texas, was visiting our fair city for GABF from his home in Fort Worth, Texas. His beard is just over three years old, but he’s had some iteration of facial hair for all his adult life, including goatees, mustaches, and mutton chops, but we must say, we favor his beard. Tony hails from a long line of Baptists and moonshiners, which we hear are both huge appreciators of the beard. Additionally, all of Tony’s sweethearts have appreciated his beard, and he assured us “Hell, even my mama digs it.”To care for those precious locks, Tony washes, conditions, brushes, and even applies a bit of Kiehl’s Superbly Restorative Argan Dry Oil for good measure. Even with all this primping, occasionally he does experience “bed beard” (think bed head, but on your face), but when his beard gets that wild he’s able to braid it to keep it in check. Regardless, Tony’s beard always smells fabulous (we have no doubt). When asked if strangers fondle his beard without his permission, Tony said he does occasionally get confused with other men who are part of the bearded brethren brotherhood, and he even has a name for these folks: “Beardists” (no comment as to whether the Beards of Denver ladies would qualify for this label, but we’ll take it as a compliment if so). Tony stressed that Beardism is “not a laughing matter” and has noticed over the years that a big, beautiful beard does seem to fascinate a huge spectrum of the populace and garners loads of, mostly humorous, comments. He did say if he ever hears another “Duck Dynasty” reference “It will be too soon.”Tony’s family, on the whole, loves his beard. His 10-year-old daughter dictates his facial hair growth and her most recent instruction was for him to grow his beard to his waist (we can’t wait for the progress report on that)! One of his nephews once wore a fake beard to Tony’s birthday party, and his very young nephews and nieces find solace and comfort in his beard. Tony’s favorite story about his beard is when his nephew Parker was three years old, he asked Tony how he grew his beard, and Tony told him, “Kid, I get up every morning, look at myself in the mirror and let out a seriously manly grunt.” About a week later, Tony received a text from his sister that read, “Well, I hope you’re happy. Parker was trying to grow his beard this morning and shit his pants,” Tony told us “I laugh every time I tell that story.” (That may be the best beard story we’ve heard thus far as well!)Besides growing an awesome beard and working in the craft beer world, Tony is also the Co-Founder/Art Director at lemonjuice.us. He works with the Texas Tavern League and is the co-pilot of The Beerliner (which we were lucky enough to experience in person). Tony also sings and plays banjo, guitar, jug, and kazoo in the band Shotgun Friday, which plays hill hop music and is the official unofficial band of Texas Craft Beer. We’ll be sure to try and catch them next time we’re in the Lone-Star state! Tony put it best when he told us that truly, “Beards make the world a better place.” We couldn’t agree more. You can follow Tony on Twitter at: @BeerPedaler

Sometimes, when the Ladies of Beards of Denver happen upon an amazing beard, it feels as if we’ve been saved. Which is why when we met Adam whilst sippin’ brews and sitting in a 1974 craft beer bus called the Beerliner in October during the Great American Beer Festival, we felt like we’d truly seen the light. After all, Adam, who hails from Ft. Worth, Texas, has been growing his beard for four years, and hasn’t even trimmed it once (though he has touched up his moustache) and we do believe Jesus himself might be envious of Adam’s holier-than-thou beard. Adam prefers to go au naturel when caring for his beard, washing it as infrequently as possible, and he doesn’t comb it all that much, which gives his beard its unwieldy delightful nature. When asked if people accost him to caress his beard, Adam said he can fend off most admirers since he’s a lot taller than most people, but he does make the ladies work for it if they make the request. Adam, who was one of the more humble beards we’ve encountered, said he didn’t grow his beard for attention but receives it anyway (which we think is rather well-deserved). When asked whether his sweetheart likes his beard, Adam told us he was recently un-engaged, and enjoying a new sense of freedom. The ladies of Texas better be ready, they are certainly in for a treat! When not growing out his magnificent beard, Adam brews beer at the Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub in Fort Worth. We’ll be sure to stop by the next time we’re in the Lone Star state to sample the brews and check out Adam’s beard progress! We have a feeling his beard is still going to go a long way.

It’s no secret that a lot of our fantastic beard encounters here at Beards of Denver have occurred whilst sampling some of the many fine brews crafted in our wonderful city. It was on such an occasion on a recent chilly fall Saturday night that we found ourselves at Black Shirt Brewing, only to have our hearts warmed by meeting Ben and admiring his glorious beard. Ben even managed to surprise us (we’re normally so unflappable) by admitting to being a Beards of Denver fan! You’re earning mega points there, Ben. The incarnation of Ben’s beard was about a year ago when he started a new gig and proclaimed he was no longer going to shave, which obviously has been a huge gain for the entire universe. Ben, who’s lived in Denver about a year, is a true-bearded Coloradan, hailing from one of our favorite cities and northern neighbor, Fort Collins. Ben shared that beard growth is all in the family: his dad hosts an annual chili party where almost all the men in Ben’s family sport beards, and we certainly expect an invite to the next one! Ben’s wonderful wife of a year-and-a-half, Brittany, loves his beard, and we predict a long and happy life together for these two; after all, a bond built on beard-love cannot be broken! Ben says normally strangers seem to fear his beard, with the notable exception of Beards of Denver (of course). Thanks Ben, keep the beard growing strong!

On occasion, the stars align for the ladies of Beards of Denver. When we think we’re simply heading out on the town for an always-innocent night of sippin’ whiskey and dancin’ to the folk-Americana-bluegrass-accordion-laced music we fancy, wouldn’t you know, a fabulous beard enters our orbit. Such was the case on a recent Friday night at Larimer Lounge in Denver, when our already wonderful night of listening to the amazing tunes of Hurray for the Riff Raff (who put out one of our favorite albums this year) and Spirit Family Reunion was topped off by meeting Joe from Denver and admiring his amazing beard. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlebeards, this is Joe’s first foray into serious beard growth. He’s been growing his beard since February, and shared with us that lots of guys “Think they are not beard guys because it grows in patchy” but he was adamant they need to stay the course and get past those uncomfortable stages until they reach full beard glory. We, of course, couldn’t agree more. Joe, who often used to shave his head, altered his hair cut to complement his beard. Such good choices! Joe shampoos his beard every few days, and came about using a beard cream in a rather serendipitous fashion. Walking into the Dive Inn bar on South Broadway one night, he encountered a bar back there who makes a beard cream called Don’s Beard Cream, which accounts for his beard’s soft texture (turns out you can buy this at Indie 6). Yet another example of wonderful Denver Beard-brotherhood.Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this good Midwestern boy has called our fair city of Denver home the past eight years. When not grooming his beard, he plays guitar and generally philosophizes. Believe it or not ladies, Joe’s a free agent, which we’re sure won’t last for long with a beard like his. He plans to put in at least a full year of beard growth, declaring “I feel like I’ve come so far and I need to take it to the limit. Why do anything if you’re not going to go all the way?” Take it all the way, Joe! We can’t wait to see how your beard progresses come February.

You’re especially lucky today, Beards of Denver loyalists, because we’re bringing you a beard that will make you breathe easier–literally and figuratively. We met Mark while we were awaiting entry into the Great American Beer Festival in October, and we couldn’t have been more pleased to make his acquaintance. Mark started this version of his great beard journey in October of 2012 when he lost his job, but he’s had a beard the better part of the past 12 years (as you can expect, Mark is quite the wise man). Mark, who now works at the Pima Medical Institute teaching in the Respiratory Therapy department, has been growing his beard ever since he started his gig there last year, and his boss is one of his biggest supporters. His wife and daughter, however, are not exactly fans of his beard, which, of course, we find astonishing. Mark says that doesn’t deter his dedication to his beard growth, it just means a little less lovin’ from his sweetheart. If you look closely, you can see Mark braided the pretzels into his beard for GABF, which is his own handiwork; his wife wouldn’t help him as a form of protest. Even with her dislike of his manly mane, their marriage is going on 14 years strong! We hope his beard has at least a little to do with that great success. Mark, who lives in Highlands Ranch, says he gets lots of comments on his beard, especially from other bearded brothers “It’s like a beard fraternity,” he told us. One we’d proudly pledge, Mark! We hope all those pretzels came in handy at GABF.

The ladies of Beards of Denver always feel fortunate when we are lucky enough to meet a new (to us) bearded Denver gentleman, and we always have a hunch when we visit one of our fair city’s wonderful breweries that Lady Bearded Luck is a bit more likely to smile upon us. Such was the case on a recent fall night in Denver, where we happened upon Kyle and his fiery-gingerbeard as we were walking into Black Shirt Brewing in RiNo neighborhood. Kyle, who is originally from Mississippi, lives in North City Park with his lovely sweetheart Erin and their dog Belle. His glorious beard originates from the fact that he’s not very good at shaving, and he noted “Everybody loves it.” And how could you not love such a beard with that captivating red hue? Kyle’s redbeard is even more fitting when we found out he works at Fire on the Mountain in Highlands, our favorite wings spot in the city (and a mecca to find many impressive beards to admire). In addition to Kyle’s dedication to his beard, he has major allegiance to D-Town, proudly stating, “What other cities compare to Denver?? San Fran is cool, but it’s NOT Denver.” We couldn’t agree more Kyle. You and that fantastic beard of yours best never leave!

Sometimes in life, we take leaps. Some are big, some are small, some are of faith, some are into pools, but whatever the kind, they are almost always worth it. Today, Beards of Denver loyalists, we bring you Mr. Eric Pynn, who isn’t afraid to take a leap, including growing his fantastic gingerbeard to its full glory. Back in April, Eric took a leave of absence from his job as a financial consultant to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with his sweetheart Manisha. Eric’s beard, which he has had for three years, had been kept in check via trimmings prior to this epic journey because when not a mountain man, Eric is a slave to The Man, making his living in the business world.Eric and Manisha’s 152-day PCT journey allowed Eric’s beard to reach its full potential, evidence both in the photo from the trail and the photo from last week when we caught up with him at Vine Street in Denver. Eric, who grew up in Indiana, has always played catch-up when it has come to growing his beard in comparison to his father and brothers (in fact, we suspect the real reason he hiked the PCT was to grow that beard out to its full glory). Because his beard takes more coaxing than his brothers’ and dad’s to come to fruition, his family finds it funny that he now constantly is With Beard. Eric blames the sweet Colorado livin’ he’s been privy to the past nine years on the birth of his beard, being first inspired by an impressive telemark skier he encountered with a frosty-beard who blew by him in Vail’s back bowls. Filled with beard (and ski) envy, Eric embarked on a journey to both learn to tele and grow a massive beard. We’re not sure where he’s at with the skiing, but we hope that beard holds up.Eric’s favorite part about his beard is the nicknames he collects because of it. Manisha, obviously Eric’s #1 beard fan, nicknamed him Gingerbeard long ago (as if we needed more reasons to love her) and her three nieces call him “Bob the Lumberjack” (neglecting to learn his real name; but who needs real names? It’s important to teach the world’s youth the value of the beard at a young age!) In addition, Eric’s been dubbed “Cougar Bait” and “Señor Guapo”. Manisha’s favorite story of Eric’s beard is how he received the nickname “Señor Guapo” whilst on the PCT (which became his trail name). On a rest day, Eric and Manisha were waiting for a trolley in Mammoth Lakes and a 50-ish woman from Mexico named Maria struck up a conversation with them, and asked Manisha if they were married. When she found the answer was no, Maria hit on Eric the entire trolley ride. Upon exiting, she called out “Adios, Señor Guapo!” Manisha firmly believes Eric’s long locks and flowing beard earned him Maria’s affections, and we have to agree. Señor Guapo, indeed! Thanks Eric and Midge!

Well, ladies and our ever-loved bearded gentlemen, it’s been a wonderful, wild, and exciting ride documenting the Bewitching Bearded Boys of Denver for you the past year! It’s hard for us to believe that 365 days have passed since we cemented our friendship and embarked on our poetic, and most favorite, journey yet: That of bringing the bearded (and occasionally) mustachioed love to you. Thanks to all of the bearded fans out there, our fabulous beard correspondents, and most importantly the bearded men of Denver who bring so much joy to our fuzzy-burly-beard-lovin’ hearts. Our emergence as pogonologists would not have been possible without you! We can’t wait to bring you more whiskered wonder in the next year to come. Cheers and Beards!Kate and Leah